


One For Sorrow, Two For Joy

by springsnow



Series: b i g s t r o n g f a m i l y [6]
Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, And Tyler Just Wants To Talk About Spider-Man, Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pete Misses His Daddy, Regal Is Endlessly Patient, Separation Anxiety, Skype, Trent Is Tired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 16:53:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20195554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/springsnow/pseuds/springsnow
Summary: Away from Trent and Tyler, Pete needs some comfort.





	One For Sorrow, Two For Joy

**Author's Note:**

> Uncle Will finally makes an appearance, and surprise surprise, it's to help Pete stop being an emotional wreck. What can I say, Petey's a little...fragile. I'm actually posting this later than I would've liked to, but hey ho, that's life sometimes. Hope you enjoy it regardless.

Regal closed the door behind him and turned to look at Pete, sighing. He had found him backstage, playing with his hair and rocking, tears welling up in his eyes, and had immediately understood what was happening. He’d shepherded him back to his office hurriedly, trying to make sure nobody saw them, and now he was wondering what to do with him. He silently cursed himself for not grabbing Simba before they left the house this morning. He had known it was only a matter of time before Pete had to go into his headspace; he’d just been hoping it would be at his house, and not here.

“Come on. Let’s sit down, hm?” He gently led Pete over to his desk chair and patted his lap, and Pete climbed up, hiding his face in Regal’s shoulder. Regal stroked the boy’s hair. “Now, dear boy. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Miss daddy,” Pete mumbled into his shoulder. He was getting Regal’s suit damp, but that hardly mattered right now. “An’ Ty.”

“I know, darling. I know. And we’re all very proud of you for being so brave and coming over here by yourself,” Regal said softly, rubbing Pete’s back. “You’re doing so well.”

“Th’nk you,” Pete replied. He sat back, wiping his eyes clumsily with his hands. Regal wordlessly handed him some tissues. “Uncle Will?”

“Yes?”

“Can we go back to your house?”

“I’m afraid not, Peter. I still have work to do. But you can stay in here until the end of the day.”

Pete whined and pouted a little. Regal quickly shushed him, brushing his fingers through Pete’s unruly hair. “Now, there’s no need for that. It’s only a few hours. And I have just the thing to pass the time.”

He reached into one of the drawers on his desk and, much to Pete’s visible delight, pulled out a _Lion King_ colouring book and a pack of crayons. He made grabby hands at them, and Regal smiled affectionately. “Now, Peter, how do we ask nicely?”

“Please, Uncle Will?” Pete asked, eyes wide. Regal laughed softly and ruffled his hair.

“Good boy. Why don’t you go sit at the table?”

Pete took the crayons and colouring book over to the coffee table and sat down next to it cross-legged. He hummed a little to himself, some nonsense tune, and the sound of it was oddly soothing. Regal opened his laptop and began working on some dull-as-dishwater official document.

It had been about half an hour when Pete suddenly looked up. “Uncle Will?” he said.

“Yes?”

“Can I have a drink, please?”

“Of course, love. Is apple juice alright?” Regal knew the vending machine upstairs was stocked with bottles of juice, but they were rarely bought; most people went for soda or water instead.

Pete nodded, tucking his thumb in his mouth. “Alright. I’ll go and get that. I’ll just lock the office so nobody barges in on you, alright?”

Another nod. Pete went back to his colouring, and Regal stepped out into the corridor, locking the door behind him.

==

Johnny jiggled the doorknob, frowning. Where the hell was the old man? He usually only locked his office when he’d left for the day, and he usually announced it if he was heading out early. He stepped back and sighed. Maybe he should go ask—

“Johnny!”

He turned to see Regal striding down the corridor towards him. “Where were you?” he asked. “Why’d you lock your office?”

Regal smiled conservatively. “Peter was feeling rather unwell,” he explained. “Migraine. I thought he was going to pass out at one point. I told him he could come and have a lie-down in my office until he felt better. What was it you needed?”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story,” Johnny said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Can I come in?”

“Can it wait until tomorrow? You know what Peter’s like when he’s in a bad mood, and I imagine waking him up wouldn’t put him in a very good one.”

Johnny half-smiled. “Yeah, true. Talk tomorrow, I guess.”

Regal smiled and nodded and watched him go, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw him turn the corner. He unlocked the office door and slipped inside to find Pete, huddled on the sofa, looking terrified.

“Peter, what’s wrong?” He put the juice down and crouched down in front of him, gently taking his hands.

“Someone was trying to get in,” Pete whimpered. “I got scared.”

“It’s alright. It was only Johnny, and he’s left now. You’re safe.”

Pete reached out to be picked up, and Regal sighed, but acquiesced. He bounced Pete gently in his arms, kissing him on the cheek. “It’s alright, Peter. You’re quite safe with me.”

It took a few minutes, but Pete managed to calm down again without too much of a fuss. He wriggled out of Regal’s arms and sat back down by the table to continue his colouring. The crayons had been shaken out of the box and spread out across the table, and the sight of it made Regal smile. He knew Pete had needed this.

==

When it did come time for them to head back to Regal’s, Regal helped Pete tuck the crayons away into the box and packed that and the colouring book away in his bag, away from prying eyes. Pete was quiet in the car on the way home, but it was a calmer sort of quiet; he gazed out of the window and hummed along, very quietly, to the radio, drumming his feet on the floor a little.

“You know, it shouldn’t be too late in the UK,” Regal remarked as he pulled up outside his house. “Would you like to call Trent?”

Pete looked up. “Can I?” he asked.

“Of course. I’m sure he’s missing you just as much as you miss him.”

“An’ Ty?”

“And Tyler.”

Pete smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Alright. Let’s get you inside and I’ll set the laptop up for you.”

Regal set his laptop down on the dining room table and opened Skype while Pete went upstairs to retrieve Simba. When Trent answered, he was wearing his glasses and looking a little haggard.

“_Hi, Will,_” he said. “_How’s everything? How’s Pete doing?_”

Regal inhaled through his nose. “He had a bit of an…episode today.”

Trent’s face fell. “_Oh, no. Is he alright? Can I talk to him?_”

“Yes, he’s just fetching his lion. Is Tyler there as well?”

“_He is. Do you want to talk to him?_”

“I think Pete does.”

“_Tyler? Tyler, bab, it’s Uncle Will. He says Pete wants to talk._”

A flash of blond hair, and Tyler was on the couch next to Trent. “_Hi, Uncle Will!_”

“Hello, Tyler. How are you?”

“_I’m good! Dad took me to see_ Spider-Man _today and then we went swimming!_”

“Well, I’m sure Pete would love to hear all about that,” Regal smiled. He hadn’t been sure about being _Uncle Will_ at first, let alone helping take care of Pete and Tyler, but they’d grown on him.

“_Is Pete OK?_” Tyler asked, and Regal could hear real concern in his voice.

“He’s fine now. He was a little upset earlier but he’s doing better. Ah, speak of the devil.”

Pete was hovering in the doorway, Simba clutched to his chest. Regal beckoned him over, standing up so he could sit in front of the laptop. He ruffled his hair and headed off to start making dinner.

“Hi, daddy,” he said. “Hi, Ty.”

“_Hello there, baby bear,_” Trent said gently. “_Uncle Will said you were a bit upset today._”

Pete nodded. “Got scared. Miss you,” he mumbled. “But he let me sit in his office an’ colour.”

“_Did you have fun?_”

“Yeah.” Pete fidgeted with Simba. “I miss you lots.”

“_We miss you too, bab. But don’t worry. You’ll be back soon enough, eh?_”

Pete smiled and nodded. He was already feeling better; he still missed them, of course, but being able to see their faces and hear their voices put him at ease. Tyler told him all about _Spider-Man_ and going swimming, and he sat and listened with his fingers in his mouth, smiling and giggling.

In the kitchen, busy with peeling a pile of carrots, Regal smiled to himself. It wasn’t going to be easy for Pete, being away from Trent and Tyler like this, but right now, he was happy.

And that was all that mattered.


End file.
